Our guide to the VDO Atomic Bold – Hybrid Lighting Fixture With Punch

Heading up the Atomic family of strobing fixtures is the Atomic Bold. The bigger brother to the Atomic Dot, the Bold is a highly-powerful and versatile hybrid lighting fixture designed for strobe, pixel mapping, spotlights, as well as rich colour washes.

Bright Washes, Glowing Aura, or Bold Strobes

With the same innovative coloured Aura and bright main beam design found in the Aura PXL, XIP, and Atomic Dot, the Bold has full RGB control over the bright, 8000/13000 lumen output main beam as well as all 72 Aura LEDs via DMX or Pixel mapping. Capable of advanced video control of its main Beam, its Aura, or both, the Atomic Bold features two P3 Mix channels that allows a mixture of Raw DMX control and P3 pixel mapping if you wish to apply a certain texture using P3 but change colours using DMX.

With 6 DMX modes in total ranging from a 1 channel ‘blinder’ mode to 243 channels of complete control over the Aura and Beam, the Atomic Dot can be configured to work in any sized system as a familiar Strobe fixture or something more versatile. There is even a simple Compact mode, if you would like to use the VDO Atomic Bold as high power par-style wash light. If you are using the Atomic Bold with other Atomic 3000 fixtures, you can put it into a 3-channel or 4-channel mode that matches the rates and control of any Atomic 3000 in the rig.

One For The Road

Touring is where the Atomic Bold really comes into its own. Not only is it a versatile fixture in terms of it’s light output and range of available effects, but it’s also housed in a strong aluminium enclosure with an IP65 rating for use outdoors as well as a range of innovative mounting fixtures to enable any lighting designer to get creative!

Simple single Power / DMX / Ethernet Connector

The VDO Atomic Bold features what Martin call a PDE connection that combines connectivity for power, DMX, and ethernet in one waterproof cable that can be easily deployed in large installations or temporary structures. Up to 9 Atomic Bolds can be chained from a single power source or an assortment of Bolds and Dots can be linked to form discrete clusters around the stage area or venue.

Featuring a distinctive hexagonal shape, the Atomic Bold has a plethora of rigging and interlocking options available to securely fix it in creative positions. It even has a yoke capable of positioning the unit on the floor for uplighting.

The available interlocking fixtures include:

• Interlock coupler that interlocks fixtures horizontally and/or vertically
• Interlocking half-coupler that locks onto any side of the fixture and has a standard 48-51mm half coupler for hanging off truss
• Interlocking adapter with an M8 and 3/8” thread for mounting a single unit onto an M8 thread or a mic stand
• 28mm Spigot adapter for compatible floor plates or stands
• Pivot coupler for interlocking units at angles and curves for creating circles and complex shapes
• Double width bracket that creates 2 or 4 light clusters
• VDO Atomic Bold Interlock Doubler, enabling two VDO Atomic Dots to be fixed to any size of a VDO Atomic Bold.

Interlocking Coupler	Half-Coupler	Adapter	Spigot Adapter
Pivot Coupler	Double Bracket	Interlock Doubler

All Accessories can be viewed here

When Atomic Bolds and Dots are used together, there are a number of interlocking options that can be used to fix multiple units in close quarters within complex shapes. Fly-in leads on both the Bolds and Dots mean it’s easy to connect one fixture to the next without multiple extensions or extra cabling. 

Junction Boxes

To make integrating the Atomic Bolds with all other fixtures easy, Martin have an array of junction boxes that are designed to break out the proprietary PDE connections into separate power, DMX and ethernet ports for connecting to your lighting controller of choice. There is a simple, PDE Passive junction box that merges DMX, Ethernet, and power with a PDE output to go onwards to your Atomic Bold fixtures and then there is an Active junction box that merges power, DMX and Ethernet signals into a PDE output alongside a DMX-thru and Ethernet-thru port. For simpler and more budget-conscious installs, there are also terminated and unterminated PDE break-in and break-out cables for simple connectivity on and off of the PDE system.

PDE Junction Box Passive	PDE Junction Box Active

Hybrid Design With Full-Gamut Colour Calibration

The VDO Atomic Bold and MAC Aura PXL design follow the same philosophy with a bright, RGBW main beam as well as all 72 RGB Aura LEDs. The FX macros include unique Aura effects including colour waves, spirals, rotations, and more as well as Aura and Beam combined macros for more complex looks. Both the Aura and Beam can be controlled using the Martin P3 System controller for pixel mapping, DMX or both using the P3 Mix channels.

Martin’s full gamut colour calibration means that the Atomic Bold is manufactured to tight tolerances and factory calibrated to ensure of every LED’s intensity/chromaticity is consistent between all Martin fixtures. Every colour from every fixture looks identical and can be seamlessly integrated with the other VDO Atomic Bolds and Dots as part of a much larger Martin system.

The VDO Atomic Bold LED driver also produces flicker-free lighting for television and broadcasting with a variable refresh rate up to 24,000 Hz and 16-bit colour resolution combined of course with consistent colour from fixture to fixture.

With thoughtful design, staggering light output, as well as extreme versatility, the Atomic Bold is at home in all environments from indoor/outdoor festivals, to intimate music venues, all the way to theatres thanks to it’s ultra-quiet dedicated theatre mode. Whilst it’s a fixture steeped in technical innovation, its physical design is where it really stands out. With so many smart interlocking features, compatibility with the Atomic Dot, as well as Par 64 standards for more accessories, the Atomic Bold is a fixture deserving of any lighting designers arsenal.

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